This (and "Remote") are among the first things I put in my Moleskine journal. I decided to get a pack of three instead of investing in an actual sketchbook, because I already have a sketchbook that I'm working in, plus I find the quality of those sketchbooks a tad intimidating.

My exposure to hip-hop culture goes back to '83 and '84, but I never rocked a track suit, wrote rhymes, made mix tapes or hit up trains with motion tags. I'm from the Prairies, man! And hip-hop wasn't universal yet (you're kidding yourself if you don't think it is now). I wish I could dig it up (I know it's around here), but Michael Holman, the man behind the TV show Graffiti Rock and the New York City Breakers wrote a book about hip-hop culture that was available in magazine format. Dude broke it all down way before many folks were even aware of all of the elements that made it up. That was my intro to the culture as a whole (I went back to reading it in '88 when rap exploded.), but just previous to that, I was facinated with b-boying (better known as "breakdancing"...don't let a hardcore b-boy or b-girl hear you say that though). Back then, I could step into a backspin and finish with a freeze. That was my entire steez, but it was fun do. My biggest audience was in the Laura Secord School that summer where I was attending a sort of summer school program (not for grades, for fun). We had the Midnight Breakers over that day (which was dope, because they were in a local Pizza Pop commercial...they were stars!), and after their performance, we were allowed to do our thing. That's when I did my thing. Hearing folks cheer was pretty cool. I've been a ham ever since then. :DSome bothersome cats tried to diss me afterwards about my limited ability, but I didn't care. I was on Cloud 9 that day.Ahhh, memories.

Hey...if any of you folks are comin' here via Illustration Friday, check out the previous post about screenprinting. It's very informative.